Printing process



July 27, 1937.

H. L, BISHOP 2,088,398

PRINTING PROCESS Filed Nov. 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l W m I Java or July 27, 1937. H. L. BISHOP 2,033,398

PRINTING PROCESS Filed Nov. 26 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 27, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE half to Earl E. Stansell,

West Carrollton, Ohio Application November 26, 1934, Serial No. 754,818

12 Claims. (Cl. 41-25.

This invention relates to the method of and device for preparing and supporting printing plates, and particularly to the method of making backing to be inserted between the plate and the 5 packing cylinder in the packing thereon.

In the preparation of printing plates, especially plates for reproducing pictures, photographs. drawings, illustrations and the like, it is desirable to emphasize certain portions of the plate and relieve other portions so as to properly reproduce the contrasts found in the original. This is generally referred to as "make-ready. In the past, several methods have been employed for accomplishing this result. One method includes the 1 building up of patches mounted intermediate the plate and the mounting for emphasizing certain portions of the plate, permitting other portions to be depressed. The preparation of the patches involves considerable labor by trained experts which 20 enhances the cost of the printing. These patches may be made from a plurality of prints wherein areas of differing extent are cut from all but one of the prints, which one forms the base upon which the remaining portions of the cut prints 25 are pasted. The print with all but the solid portion removed is placed next to the uncut print, the solid portion of which registers with the solid portion of the superimposed print. The succeeding print may have the light areas in addition to 30 the high-light areas cut away, etc.

An object of this invention is to provide a make-ready, made from a laminated sheet, the portions removed from each lamina varying to properly emphasize certain portions of the plate 35 when used as a make-ready.

' Another object of this invention is to reproduce a cut upon a laminated sheet cutting out of this print the portions to be relieved, as indicated by the print thereon, and using this cut lamination 1 as a make-ready.

' Another object of this invention is to provide a laminated structure, the laminations of which may be identified from one another to expedite the preparation of the make-ready.

5 Another object of this invention is to provide a .make-ready that is cheap, efficient, dependable, easily and accurately produced.

With the above primary and other incidental objects in view, as will more fully appear in the 0 specification, the invention consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation, or their equivalents, as hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

5 In the drawings, Fig. 1 discloses a plurality of sheets or laminae before assembling into a laminated structure. Fig. 2 shows a laminated structure ready for the process. Fig. 3 shows the laminated structure upon which the print of the plate is impressed. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 disclose the laminated sheet in successive steps of preparation for a make-ready" or a backing member for a printing plate as the case may be.

As referred to above, it has been old to place make-readys upon the packing cylinder under the draw sheet and in registry with the plate to emphasize certain portions of the cut, relieving other portions so as to properly reproduce the cut, but in the prior art the make-ready" has been built up patches, which requires accurate workmanship on the part of skilled workmen.

In the process of my invention a laminated sheet of material, preferably made oflaminations of different colors, is impressed and the cut reproduced on the'surface whereby the high lights may be removed in their entirety from the laminations, intermediate shades removed from one or more layers so as to provide a make-ready to be mounted intermediate the plate and the packing cylinder, preferably lodged in the packing under the draw sheet, which permits the high lights and the intermediate shaded areas to be relieved in varying degrees so as to properly emphasize the high lights and the shaded areas of the print.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character l0 indicates one lamina which has been designated as white; I2 is a second lamina indicated as green; and M a third lamina shown as yellow, which when assembled forms a laminated sheet I6 preferably having a smooth surface.

In the preparation of the laminated sheets Hi from the laminae I 0, l2 and I4, it is preferable to coat the sheets with a binding material which will hold the sheets together under ordinary conditions but will fail more readily than the material of the laminae, so that portions of the laminae may be removed by failure of the binding material without a failure of the laminae per se. For a binding material, compounds including wax have been found to give satisfactory results. Although the illustrative drawings show a laminated sheet of only three sheets, any number of sheets may be used, depending entirely upon the demands.

The plate to be used has, for the purposes of illustration, a hat thereon which is printed upon the surface of the laminations IS.

The Figure 18 in the modification disclosed shows a hat having high light areas 20, the comby a thickness corresponding to one lamina, leaving the extremely dark areas 26 intact.

To accomplish this the high light areas. are. removed from all the iaminations as shown by the reference character in Fig. 4. This may be easily and quickly done by the use of a printer's spot knife or any other suitable cutting implement. The comparatively light area 22 should be backed by one thickness of a lamination. This is accomplished by cutting through laminations Ill and I2, that is the white and the green, leaving the yellow lamination intact under the areas 22 as shown by the reference character 32 in Fig. 5. The comparatively dark portion 24 is next cut away through the white area down to the greeny as shown by reference character 34 in Fig. 6.

The laminated sheet I6 is now ready to be placed intermediate the draw sheet and the packing sheets found upon the packing cylinder. This make-ready is placed in registry with the corresponding plate the same as when patches are,

used. From this it is seen that the high light areas 2|! are depressed a distance corresponding to the thickness of three laminations, the comparatively light areas 22 a distance corresponding to the thickness of two laminations and the comparatively dark areas 24 a distance corresponding to the thickness of one lamination. For the purpose of illustration, the laminated sheets l0, l2 and M are greatly exaggerated as to thickness, as each sheet should be only a few thousandths of an inch thick. The laminated sheet is not affected by variations of humidity of the air, due to the wax-like coating which makes it impervious to moisture.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into effect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The process of preparing make ready, including the steps of printing upon united laminated sheet material from a plate, cutting and removing portions of laminations while united underlying certain predetermined areas of the print, inserting said laminated material having portion thereof removed intermediate the plate and the packing cylinder with the removed portions in registry with corresponding portions of the plate 3. The process of preparing a make ready, in- I cluding the steps of reproducing the cut on the plate upon a sheet of laminated material held in a united body, removing portions bodily from the laminated body while united so that. as the remainder thereofis placed in registry with the 1 plate the gradations in light are emphasized.

4. The process of preparing a make ready, in-

- cluding the steps of reproducing the cut on the plate upon a sheet of united laminated material having strata held together with a binding material, peeling portions thereof while united to correct improper shading when the remainder is used asa make ready.

5. The process of producing a make ready, including the steps of securing a plurality of sheets together into a laminated sheet, removing portions bodily from the laminated sheet while held together whereby the remainder may be used as a make ready.

6. The process of producing a make ready, including the steps of securing a plurality of differently colored sheets together into a united laminated sheet, peeling portions from said laminated sheet while united so as to have a variegated colored make ready, the colored portions corresponding to shade gradations on the plate.

-7. The process of producing a make ready, including the steps of producing a united laminated sheet from identifiable laminae, reproducing the out of'the plate for the make ready, removing portions of the laminae bodily without separation of the laminae whereby shade gradations of the reproduction correspond to variations in thickness of the make ready constituting the remainder of the united laminated sheet.

8. The process of producing a. make ready, including the steps of treating sheets to make the same impervious to variations in atmospheric humidity, binding the treated sheets into a united laminated structure, reproducing the cut of the plate upon the structure, pee lg portions of laminated sheets while united from the laminated structure so that the remainder thereof has variations in thiclmess corresponding to gradations in shade to emphasize shading when used as a make ready.

9. The process of producing make ready, including the steps of waxing sheets to make the same impervious to water, binding the waxed sheets into a united laminated structure, reproducing the cut of the plate upon said laminated structure, peeling portions of the laminated sheets while united from the laminated structure to produce variations in thickness corresponding to gradations in shade in the remainder of the structure to emphasize shading whenused as a make ready.

10. The process of producing a, make ready including the steps of coating sheets to make the same impervious to variations in atmospheric humidity, binding the coated sheets into a united laminated structure, bodily producing a cut of the plate upon the structure, removing the pottions of all the laminated sheets while united underlying the hight light areas, bodily removing a base sheet and a have portions portions of the sheets underlying shaded areas to produce a make ready, the thickness of which varies with gradations of shading.

11. A laminated make ready sheet including plurality of superimposed sheets of diiferent colors, an adhesive binding material including wax for normally holding the sheets together but failing more easily than the sheets, whereby the laminated make ready may of sheets cut and removed bodily by a failure of the binding material.

12. A laminated structure for use in the printing art including a base sheet and a plurality of superimposed sheets, the uppermost of which has an impression printed thereon, and adhesive binding material including wax for normally holding the sheets together but failing more easily than the sheets, whereby the laminated structure may have portions of sheets cut according to the impression thereon and removed bodily by a failure of the binding material.

HOMER. L. BISHOP. 

